Thursday’s Headlines Feel the Need for Speed
A new Mineta Transportation Institute report touts the economic and environmental benefits of high-speed rail.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 26, 2023
- Investing in high-speed rail would create thousands of jobs and slash greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report. (Smart Cities Dive)
- 1970s environmental laws are now being weaponized to stop new housing construction and transportation projects. (Governing)
- Cities will need more on-street EV charging stations, adding to the competition for already cluttered curbside space. (Transportation for America)
- The New York Times‘ Jamelle Bouie writes about how poorly designed streets and ever-larger SUVs endanger pedestrians.
- Unhoused people are at extreme risk of being killed by drivers, but more data is needed to truly understand the problem. (Streetblog USA)
- California regulators ordered Cruise’s autonomous vehicles off the streets after the company withheld video of one of its cars dragging a pedestrian. (Vice)
- A married couple was killed during a bike ride in California when they were hit by lumber falling off a truck. (New York Post)
- University of Minnesota students and staff can now use their college IDs to board Minneapolis buses and trains for free. (MinnPost)
- Atlanta’s neighborhood representatives overwhelmingly support light rail on the Beltline walking and biking trail. (Saporta Report)
- Seattle will have to return $7 million in federal grants for a streetcar if it doesn’t come up with matching funds soon. (The Urbanist)
- Miami-Dade buses will be fare-free for the rest of the year. (Herald)
- Reno officials approved a downtown bike network. (KUNR)
- A D.C. council member wrote about how he got around without driving for a week. (Greater Greater Washington)
- Melbourne’s trams are hit by cars about three times a day, and a newly designed model will be easier to repair. (The Age)
- In the Estonian capital of Tallinn, going fare-free a decade ago didn’t take cars off the road; transit ridership has actually dropped. Improving service and charging drivers more has a greater impact. (Fast Company)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
The California DMV’s Culture of Obstruction
California’s DMV is responsible for managing some of the biggest risks on the state’s roads, but researchers say a culture of secrecy and obstruction makes it nearly impossible for the public to access basic information about dangerous drivers and disabled parking placard fraud.
November 6, 2026
Opinion: I (Almost) Killed a Pedestrian With My Car
Every driver has a story or two about a near-miss traffic crash, even when they were doing everything right. Can we get those numbers down with safer systems?
November 6, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Value of Cities
Cities are valuable precisely because there are so many people in them.
November 5, 2026
What It Will Take To Turn the ‘Blue Wave’ Into a Watershed Moment for Transportation Reform
Democrats won big at the ballot box in the midterms. Will they fight for multimodal travelers when they're in office?
November 5, 2026
